Fun to be a part of the work!

These are the senior missionaries from last weeks meeting

We have had a very busy week! In fact we are both kind of stumbling around trying to get moving today because of it, but like I have mentioned before it is much better to be busy than not! Tonight we will be doing something that we have not had to do for 15 years! We have to turn our clocks back! We come from Arizona where there is not Day Light Savings time.Good to get an extra hour of sleep, good for lighter mornings but not thrilled about the days fading earlier as a result!

I think I may start my ramblings backward today. Tell events more recent and then rehearse the beginning of the week. Yesterday afternoon the Elders met with the two University girls here for a discussion. They were teaching lesson 3: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”. Georgia has remained very interested in learning more about the church and even came to church last week. Monday evening they came over here for another FHE and we had quite an emotional discussion about the Church’s views on the Family. They each have some issues with their own families. They really are great young women and we have grown to love them and respect them.

Well back to last night. The Missionaries did a very good job of teaching each of the points in the lesson.The importance of Faith, Repentance and Baptism. When the discussion turned as directed to the Holy Ghost we were able to witness a powerful moment. We each had been bearing our testimony of the value of this gift in our lives. I was just saying something about how I could not imagine how I could possibly have been a mother without the daily guidance of the Holy Ghost. As I said that Georgia said right out loud: “did you hear that? Am I the only one that heard that?” She said her mind had kind of wandered and everything around her was kind of blurry, not paying attention completely, and when I said ‘Holy Ghost’ they came into her mind as clear as if a scanner had pulled them up and illuminated them before her eyes. Her heart started beating fast and she even had Rebecca feel her neck to see how fast her pulse was.

Elder Preece and I and the two Elders looked at each other in amazement. Rebecca said she did not feel anything but did not doubt that it had happened. Elder Yu explained to her that one of the jobs of the Holy Ghost is to testify so that when truth is spoken it can be recognized. Each of us reassured her that this is exactly what had happened to her, the spirit had testified to her that we were speaking truth. The rest of the lesson went well and then we ate milk and cookies after (more about the cookies later). Georgia could not stop talking about the “scanner” experience. She had previously shared with us a remarkable experience that she had when she was about 14 years old and had prayed and asked if there was a God. At that time she had had a very powerful witness that there was. She felt that the experience yesterday was comparable, just not as pronounced. She texted the missionaries afterward that she knows that God is mindful of her. All good stuff!!!

Now to record the rest of the week. Monday we got Preparation Day stuff done, laundry, house work and blog. Monday night as I previously mentioned we had FHE with Georgia and Rebecca. Tuesday was a very rainy day which was just as well because the car had to be taken into the garage to get new breaks. We rode the bus down in the evening to pick it up when it was all finished.

Wednesday I got up early and started baking cookies. We have been asked to bring cookies to all of the Zone Conferences. We were going to one on Thursday. We had to be in Bridgwater by one o’clock so needed to leave here by eleven. Well these cookies, what can I say about them…they ended up being miracle cookies. When I was baking them they did not look or taste right. I had had to make my own applesauce to put in them since I have not found prepared applesauce in the markets yet. I madly finished the process while I was rushing around getting ready.  Think I made nearly 5 dozen, covered them and left them to cool while we headed out on our errand. We did not return to our flat until after YSA dinner that evening. When we got back they tasted normal now that they had sat for a while, whew!

Thursday morning we got up very early and madly prepared to leave for our long day. We had to pick up the Elders from our ward at 7:30 am to drive to Poole for a tri-zone conference. We were driving through the morning traffic in Bath when Bill said: “Did you bring the cookies”? Big pause….. NO neither of us had picked them up nor put them in the car. The second part of the miraculous state of these cookies is that when Elder Preece went in the kitchen to see if he needed to run off to the store to purchase some there was plenty of food, the people who had prepared the meal had brought plenty dessert. See, the Lord can compensate for you even when you make dumb mistakes!!!

The drive that morning was long and on little winding country roads. It was first thing in the morning and mist was rising from the lush green farmlands. It really did look like something out of Pride and Prejudice!

You can see how I felt from my notes!

What an amazing experience Zone Conference was! The power and enthusiasm in that room full of Sisters and Elders is hard to describe. Too bad it cannot be bottled!! We were all given wise council from our Mission President. Sister Millar spent time teaching those young people about dressing properly, being safe, being tidy and taking care of their health. She did so very lovingly. At one point she was admonishing them to be sure they had CO2 detectors because none of their parents had sent them out on a mission to be taken from this world by a Carbon Monoxide leak, and when she said this there was a catch in her voice and a tears in her eyes.

The APs gave great council to all of us on following Preach My Gospel more closely and making sure each new member has been taught the essential doctrines of the gospel. One of the councilors in the Mission Presidency gave a beautiful talk on Prayer and then the President lead a powerful scripture study with them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is Faith, Repentance, Baptism for the remission of sins and the Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Then we all stood and sang “I Stand All Amazed” and the spirit was so strong that I felt it through my whole body!

The trip home was not so ‘enjoyable’. There are no real motorways or official highways between Bristol and Poole. We had to go straight to the Stake Center because we had to teach our institute class that evening. We punched the address into the GPS and headed out. Well somewhere right at first we missed a turn that none of us in the car saw and ended up on back roads, small villages and narrow lanes that you cannot even imagine. Arrival time on the sat nav kept getting later and later. Finally we found a petrol station and bought some snacks for supper. When we did get on the highway we needed to take us the rest of the way into Bristol we were behind a huge truck who happened to be going exactly where we were going so we were stuck! All laughable now but very exhausting at the time; it took us over three house to get back! Whew!

Here is a link to show a little bit of what our trip was like. It is a little blurry but you can get the idea if you click on the link.

http://youtu.be/3wmElaoS01I

We are grateful to all of you for your loving support! We pray for each of you night and morning. At Zone Conference we were taught that every time we leave a teaching experience we need to ask: “Who else do you know that could benefit from this lesson?” That simple invitation can open many doors. I would admonish you to each ask that simple question often. The success is in the invitation. We ask they decide if they want to hear or not! This really is an amazing time we are living in. I pray that you all will understand the role that you play as the work rolls forth!

Friday nite date night dinner

Nice way to end the week at the Penny Farthing Pub

http://youtu.be/3wmElaoS01I

More News from Jolly Old England

Today is an A.A. Milne day, it truly feels like Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day! A good day for staying in and working on the blog!!

Great week! Moving forward in the work and learning a lot, always learning a lot! Our family had some significant Birthdays to celebrate last week. Michael our youngest turned 31 on Monday the 14^th and Bill’s mother had her birthday on the 17^th ; let’s just say she graciously earned every year of her life! Even more mind boggling however is the fact that my own mother was born 100 years ago this past Monday also on Oct. 14^th. She passed away 32 years ago and would probably not be here today regardless but just the thought that one generation back from myself could possibly have begun 100 years ago is kind of sobering!

On Monday to commemorate these Birthdays, well mostly because it was P-day, we visited the museum in Bristol which is the SS Great Britain. It is a huge iron side ship that was built in about 1843. It was very innovative for its time. It was a passenger Steam Ship with a single screw propeller instead of a wheel. It sailed from Liverpool to NYC in 14 days. It was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic. Voyages to the US did not work out as well as they planned so it was refitted and turned into a Windjammer and made many voyages from Liverpool to Australia during the Australian gold rush.  In all before it was purposely retired in a deserted bay in the Falkland Islands it had sailed over a million miles. In 1970 it was recovered and towed home to Bristol where it had been built. This part of the story is amazing to me, they towed her on a barge until they got to the mouth of the Avon River and then they sealed her hull so she could sail up the river via tug boats to her final resting place.

Avon River at high tide

Avon River at low tide

 Now the Avon River is a tidal river, I am totally fascinated by this phenomena. It means that the river fills and empties twice every day with high and low tied. The whole excursion had to wait for spring tide when the river could support the whole operation. Many people gathered on the cliffs, suspension bridge and banks to watch her come home. Brother Evans remembers watching it as a youngster. Wow!  

 It is very well restored and it is actually in dry dock though they have made it look like it is still in the water. To keep the hull from further deterioration they keep fans blowing to maintain a humidity much like the “Arizona desert”. Now we know where to go when we get homesick!

S S Great Britan

Dry Dock

sleeping quarters

Monday night we just had FHE with the two of us. We did get some SKYPE calls from family members, the birthday boy, Lindsey and Uncle Dan, so it was a nice evening!

Tuesday was a long day… We did have some appointments in the evening but not during the day. We do read and study our institute lesson and plan and try to make appointments but would much rather be busy than not!

When I taught Kindergarten I used to teach patterns, reading readiness. Well last week here in Bristol would be a perfect week to illustrate that to the children: rain one day, sun the next, rainy day, sunny, rainy sunny! If this pattern maintains I will be fine this winter!

Wednesday District meeting and YSA Dinner. Busy day, good day. Dinner was an English Fry up, breakfast for dinner! Very English! Very fun! Toast, Bacon (more like Canadian bacon), sausage, potato ‘waffles’, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes! Of course served with brown sauce and red sauce (catsup) and ‘squash’ to drink.

Thursday we got to drive out to Taunton for some mission business and it was one of those wonderful Sunny days. Except for the interesting way our Sat Nav brought us back to the Stake Center it was an enjoyable trip. It a few weeks we will be attending Ward Conference at that chapel so we are glad we know how to get there now.

Institute was great. There was a sweet feeling in our little class and teaching the Book of Mormon is the best. After classes the activity was: World Food Night. The YSA members brought food from around the world, either from ancestral origins or missions etc. It was great fun. We had a hard time coming up with something that is uniquely American. Most of our food comes from some other nation since we are a ‘melting pot’. With some coaching from Mimi and Lindsey we decided that Corn bread was pretty American. After all the Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to grow and use corn! We also found some British made Root Beer. It is really hard to find it over here unless you pay an arm and a leg. Both were big hits! Many had not tasted either before and some were really excited about the Root Beer!

We ended the evening with a special YSA leadership meeting with President Webb of the Stake Presidency. It was a very inspiring meeting with much good council given. These Young leaders are marvelous people, certainly the church leaders for a coming important time!

3 members of YSA Council Presidency and President Webb (he is a firefighter!)

Friday we drove to the Visitors center and mission office for Senior Couple’s meetings all day Saturday, including a talk from President Millar. The trip was enjoyable. It is a lot of driving and the traffic as you get closer to London does teach patience. We were able to just make it to the distribution center 5 minutes before closing Friday night so we could pick up the things we needed and find most of the items on the list that came from the missionaries in our district! Whew!

The meetings with the other senior couples and President Millar were very helpful and up lifting! We returned home with time to relax a little Saturday night.

 Sunday was a very busy day. We left about 8 am to drive to the Bath Ward to meet with their PEC. They meet in a former Methodist church. It is quite unique! There are some lovely people in that ward and they are having great success with missionary work so it is growing fast. The Bishop had served a mission in Escondido CA in 1982, that was the same time we lived in Vista. Small world!

There are a lot of Young Single Adults that are active and we got to meet them and get a list of others that we need to start visiting. We felt such a good supportive feeling from all the members and leaders that we met. There is a lot to do but it is such a good feeling when we are moving forward!

Last evening we had two YSA council meetings and FHE. A fun moment in the evening was when all of us, YSA Presidency brother Evans and ourselves, were watching a ‘Prezi’ (like power point) presentation from the Digital zone and Uncle John called on SKYPE. He was a little surprised when he was greeted by so many happy faces!

Hannah has been sick so we have not seen her for a week. We are having FHE here tonight with Georgia and Rebecca the University of Bristol students that we mentioned before. They want to talk about families; that is a good subject!!

I am ready to start listening to the Conference talks over again. I get so inspired when I hear these words from the leaders of this glorious church. A couple of thoughts I would like to leave with you come from President Monson. I loved when he used the term: “The Heavenly virtue of patience.” And I loved his closing remarks which I would leave with you my wonderful family and beloved friends!

“May we ever be found doing the work of the Lord.”

                                              Thomas S Monson

Elder Hagadorn after hours

We talked the Elders into coming to dinner with us,
 they met someone while in line at the buffet and now have a new person to teach!

9 Weeks Out!

 

Our last trip to the Market! UK food!

Typical driving obstacles

Can you believe that it has been a little over two months since we reported to the MTC in Provo? The days have been busy and eventful. In some ways the time has flown by and in other ways it feels like we have been here in our little flat in Bristol England for a very long time.

Each week it seems harder and harder to sit down and put into writing all of the important memories. Last post was particularly tedious for some reason. I think that as we get more and more involved in the work around us taking time to enter meaningful descriptions and record of our comings and goings is more challenging.

There is a lot that goes into transforming ordinary people into servants of the Lord. Some days that transition flows more smoothly than others. Each time we meet with the Young Single Adults in our Stake they become dearer to us. The regular activities of this week have continued to add to these feelings. The weekend of course was filled with General Conference so we did approach the week with renewed testimony.

This past Monday we had a stimulating experience for FHE. The Elders brought two ‘Uni’ Students from the University of Bristol. These lovely British Girls are studying Physics and Chemistry. After watching President Ucthdorf’s talk from Sat Morning session of Conference we had quite a lively discussion about Creation verses Evolution. They really were polite and very curious. We even called my brother John on SKYPE for some help. I guess the students called the Elders later and said they had a wonderful time and felt so comfortable in our home, almost like they always knew us…

District meeting came on Tues this week. With a new District leader the Zone leaders came to help. These fine young missionaries have become so dear to us. We have such an appreciation for their devotion, service and individual personalities and talents! They make us smile. We are a part of this Missionary District!

Elder Mansfield from our district (he is British)

The Memorial Service for the Sweet sister who passed away I mentioned last week took place on Wednesday. Her father conducted the entire service and gave a beautiful talk on the Plan of Salvation. There were many nonmembers there from the school where his daughter used to work. He asked all the missionaries in our District to be there and be available. He bore such a strong testimony and said that he would be happy if just one person not of our faith approached him after and wanted to know more about the gospel; which would seem to him to give meaning to this untimely event. The family all spoke, it was a very powerful and emotional day! It was sweet to watch the missionaries mingle with the guests afterward.

YSA dinner in the evening gave us the opportunity to participate with the district leader in giving two sister missionaries a blessing and again sit with Hannah and help her understand more. As we tried to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon with her I realized that she does not even understand how to read a book of scripture. It is very hard for her not just because it is another language but she does not have any scriptural frame of reference at all. She does pray night and morning and does feel the spirit. The next step will me to get a testimony of the Book of Mormon which will not be easy.

Our Friend Hannah!

Thursday there were over 38 YSA at Institute! It was great, the desire to reach out and invite is becoming real in our Stake. This morning we took a new Ward YSA Rep on a visit with us and it was wonderful to watch a she received inspiration for her new calling. These are the visits we are working hard to have more often! THE WORK GOES ON!

Institute

Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement! We love you all so very much! Each family member and friend is a vital part of our lives and have added so much to our testimonies and helped us be who we are!

More happenings

Busy week, Saturday Sept 28th the Sisters that work in the Bristol 1^st ward had a baptism. We took Hannah. All of the missionaries in our District brought investigators. It was really a wonderful occasion. The convert is a single mom. So many people came out to support her. There was really a happy feeling there and those who attended felt it!

The companionship who set up the baptism had to be to the church early because the cold water facet is broken so they had to fill the font and let it sit a while to cool down. Their ward mission leader brought some bags of ice to put in the water so it would not be too hot. Just one of those fun things that makes missionary work interesting. : )

On the way home Hannah was asking questions that made us think that someone has probably been telling her some anti-Mormon ideas. Then Sunday she did not come to church. It is interesting to experience firsthand the ups and downs of being a missionary.

Our ward had a tragic death this past week, a young single mom in the ward just suddenly passed away with no warning. Sitting in church Sunday I felt sad. Sad because of the death and because our friend did not come to church.  I was grateful for the sweet spirit during the rest of the meetings.

The Bishop announced that the building renovation that was planned has been postponed until further notice by the Church in order to pour the funds into the rapidly growing missionary program.  That is interesting… This wonderful hastening is very expensive. I am sure we all need to donate when we can to the missionary fund to help.

Our usual YSA meetings were fine. We had a nice FHE. I have already posted on FB that refreshments were beans on toast. They all loved it! : ) I will learn I am sure! However the next Institute day Catherin a YSA made this lovely cake!

Beans and toast

Cathrine and her cake

Monday P-day we decided to take an excursion. There are so many historical places nearby, we can see many in our own Mission boundaries. Bill had read on line of the ruins of a Castle only about a half hour away, near Bath. It was very cloudy but not raining so we decided why not! Getting used to all this rain is quite an experience for an Arizonian!

As always driving around through the country is a treat. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to believe we are really here. Partly what makes everything so British are the names of places and streets. We had to turn on a street called Pennyquick, made us smile.

The Castle was breathtaking. The oldest part was built in 1380 as the first Hungerford renovated a manor house. As years passed it was added on to, finally the expansion enclosed the nearby church inside its walls. There had actually been a mote and you could see the gully where it used to be. There at one time had been a draw bridge and everything. As the centuries passed the Hungerford family fell in and out of favor with royalty and lost then regained the castle. Also some lost their heads literally because of the rifts.

 Finally the family was completely decommissioned and the castle was left to decay, I think in the 17^th century. In the 1800 it was discovered that some paintings on the walls of the Church had been plastered over. Because of the plaster they were preserved. The covering was carefully removed and a beautiful picture of St George and the Dragon can be enjoyed today. It is maybe 10 feet tall.

600 years old

Part of the fun of the day were the cloudy conditions, and the green surrounding land and hills. There were even some thatched roofs nearby. It all made for a wonderful medieval and Elizabethan atmosphere!

countryside around
Farleigh Hungerford Castle

On the way home we went to a very quaint town called Bradford-on-Avon to find some lunch and found a delightful tea room! Oh my goodness, I felt I was in an old English novel!  We strolled around town for a little while after lunch.

Bradford-onAvon

The Bridge Tea Room

In need Lizzy to know (3 year old granddaughter) that it really was a 'Tea Party"

In the morning before we started our adventure the Elders had called to ask if we could still have FHE. We said we would be back but half way through our day they called to say Hannah could not make it. I was very sad because I could feel her drifting and losing interest. When we were just finishing our dinner the Elders called again and said that FHE was back on, Hannah wanted to come.

She had many doubts that she expressed because of some conversations with a friend at school warning her to not be so hasty about joining the church. I am not sure that those doubts were calmed but we all encouraged her to read the Book of Mormon and pray. Elder Preece told her now she needed work to find out for herself the truthfulness of what the missionaries have been teaching her. She left happier and I know she feels the sprit when she is here, I know she feels our love and God’s love. We will just have to see what happens. She is still coming to events and talking to the Elders.

Tuesday we had to lay low and rest since this cold was not leaving Elder Preece any too quickly. Because Wednesday was Transfers again we had to drive out to Weston-Super-Mare to pick up the two sisters there and bring them back to the flat of the Downend Sisters here in Bristol since one was being transferred. One or the sisters is from Utah and this is her first transfer, the other from Finland. The whole experience was quite an adventure since the main round-about just 4 min from destination was completely closed.  With much murmuring we finally got around the mess and were only a few minutes late to pick them up. We had the same problem returning but the Sisters knew how to navigate us around it.

Wednesday we needed to drive to Stains, the ward building where all missionaries who will be transferred and new missionaries from the MTC meet for instructions and then head out their for new areas. We had an empty car because we were just picking up an Elder to bring him back with us to replace our former District Leader Elder Collard. The trip was long but was fine. Elder Preece was drooping a little but hanging in there. When we got there we got to talk to Elder Kirk from Blanding UT. Our daughter Emily is in his home ward. It was fun to talk to him. He is serving in the Channel Islands on the Island of Jersey. We got picture taken with us and sent it to Emily so that she could send it to his mom. His Mom was very grateful! I remember.

Also when we were helping to serve lunch a new missionary named Elder Preece came through the line. All three of us were thrilled because it is rare to meet another Preece, especially at home. He is from Salem UT fresh out of the MTC. Of course we must be related somehow. It would be fun if he ever ended up in our District!

Elder Kirk from Blanding UT

We picked up Elder Yu who is from mainland China, and brought him back with us. We had to pair him up with his companion Elder Hagedorn who was spending the day in a threesome and they were all at the Mall. They were having lunch with Hannah!

One of Hannah’s concerns the other night was that the church was outlawed in China. We explained that proselyting was outlawed but not the church. Meeting with Elder Yu was tangible evidence of our reassurance. (I do not believe in coincidence)

After the exhausting two days in the car Bill needed to go home and rest so we excused ourselves from YSA dinner. Driving gets tedious around here, narrow narrow streets, cars parked on the sides and sometimes it is easy to get into the wrong lane so that you miss your turn! Last week we got a traffic ticket for driving in a bus lane, photo cop! What can I say….

Thursday we had appointments with the Health Care Clinic to complete our registration and hopefully get Bill some medical attention. Well our experience was very much a Doc Martin experience! Our weight was measured in Kilo grams so made me feel good because it was a small number, however height is in Centimeters so that was a big number. We thought we would see a Doctor or Nurse but just saw a clinical lady. She could not help with the medical problems Bill was having, nor any other medical questions or concerns.

The whole day was a very ‘British’ day. It rained all day, the Surgery (Dr. Office) was a new experience and when we went to the grocery store we had to search to find the things we needed. It is kind of fun! By the time we finish out mission we will be so Anglicized that we will have to adjust back to American ways.

Bill had to make an appointment to go back later to see a Doctor. He does have Bronchitis and did get put on Medication! We still went to Institute to teach our class; there he was able to get a priesthood blessing! Friday we took it easy so the antibiotics can kick in! It is hard not to feel guilty when you are out of commission. It will be good to be back in full swing!

Before Institute Thursday we had a Stake YSA Council meeting which was a SKYPE conference call with the Elders from our Mission’s Digital District. The purpose was to inform these young leaders of the nature of the missionary work happening on line. It is amazing because it reaches all over the world. Several baptisms have already taken place. I wish you could have seen those 4 enthusiastic young people using their smart phones to ‘friend’ these Elders so that they could be sent information that will train them in how to reach out to their friends and allow all of the YSA to do the same thing. It was electrifying! There is no doubt that the time has come to use these amazing technological advances to assist in the Hastening process!

Saturday we picked Hannah up and drove to the Stake Center to attend a tape delayed broadcast of last week’s General Relief Society meeting. Elder Preece was still not feeling well but was a trooper and dropped us off. A lovely breakfast was served and then we watched the program. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming to Hannah. She even came dressed in a dress for the first time! I was able to introduce her to a young married sister from Downend ward who is about her age. They had lot in common. Sister Sewell is from Germany though she is of Filipino heritage. She attended University and after she got her Masters came to visit her brother here where she met her husband. She was empathetic to Hannah’s situation and they struck up a great friendship. We sat together and Ida (pronounced Eeda) and Hannah exchanged information and may meet for lunch sometime this week. The broadcast itself was so sweet and appropriate and Hannah was so touched and pleased. I know it meant more to me because I was so aware of how the message was being received by Hannah. She left happy. We will see what happens next. It is inspiring to watch the Lords hand and to be patient enough to turn it over to Him.

Since both of us were not feeling too well Sunday we stayed home to watch both sessions of Conference instead of going to the Stake Center. Morning session was on at 5:00 PM here and afternoon at 9:00 PM; loved the whole thing! It was a beautiful Sunny day in Bristol! We were glad we could watch the Priesthood session on line! OK, one of my favorite Conference things to do is grill Elder Preece when he gets home from General Priesthood Meeting on Sat evening about all that was said. I also love reading those messages later. Well this year I loved watching it! The sweetest thing was the Young Men’s Choir. I loved those valiant young(little) boys! Anyone who did not get to hear this meeting I would highly recommend you going to lds.org and watch it.

I feel so refreshed by the words of the Lord as delivered by His servants! Counsel was given! Our lives will be better by obeying that counsel. President Ezra Taft Benson said: “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.”